Monday, January 20, 2014

Why Marijuana Should Remain Illegal

Arguments and Answers to legalizing marijuana:
1. Marijuana is no more harmful than alcohol, and alcohol is legal.
Alcohol is America’s number one drug problem. Why should we now unleash another harmful drug on America? When marijuana has been legalized, it has led to an increase in crime and societal problems

Alcohol and marijuana have been recognized as “gateway drugs.” In other words, many began their downhill slide with one or both. Then this leads them to other drugs. We already have one gateway drug, alcohol, that is legal, accepted by many, and causing havoc across our country. Do we now want to legalize another such devastating drug that will cause further destruction?
2. We have not won the war against drugs, including marijuana. So why not legalize it?
We haven’t won the war against murder either. Should we therefore legalize murder? Should we just tax murder? Of course not.

Passing a law against a harmful practice does not eliminate the practice. But it does limit it, stigmatize it, and punish the abusers.

Legalize marijuana, and you will get more users of marijuana. People who have never smoked it before, will try it, simply because it is now legal.
3. Medical marijuana should be legalized.
The argument for medical marijuana seems to just be a way of opening the door to the recreational use of marijuana. We already have better, legal, prescription drugs to fight pain.

For the Christian, we should even be concerned with the proper, limited use of prescription drugs. They are dangerous and should be used cautiously with the advice of a good, reliable medical doctor. Even otherwise helpful drugs can be addictive and misused.
4. People have a right to smoke marijuana if they choose.
Our rights must sometimes end when a practice or substance becomes too harmful to ourselves and others. I know there is a fine line that sometimes has to be drawn, but dangerous drugs that harm the user and innocent others should be severely limited.

Marijuana has been shown to cause many traffic accidents, and harm the health and mental ability of users. Isn’t it strange that just as society is turning against smoking tobacco, it is now moving toward sanctioning smoking marijuana?
5. We can get taxes from the legal sales of marijuana.
We could also get taxes from legalizing other harmful practices. Invariably, when we allow and tax a practice that is harmful to society, we end up paying more to control it and deal with its consequences, than we receive in taxes.

Government would do better to get their taxes up front and honestly, not by legalizing destructive behavior. On the other hand, frankly for the destructive behaviors already legalized, if there is no other alternative, let’s do limit them with “sin taxes,” and raise those taxes every chance we get.
6. You can’t legislate morality.
Yes you can. Our laws against murder legislate morality. Laws against theft legislate morality. Some things need to be criminalized, limited, and stigmatized.

7. Penalties for marijuana should change
Perhaps this is true. Barrett Duke has suggested, “A system of increasing fines, penalties and requirements, like substance-abuse counseling, can be developed. Penalties even could include the loss of one's driver's license. Jail could be a last resort for habitual offenders” (bpnews.net; 8-6-2012).
8. Marijuana is not that bad.
Rather, when marijuana has been legalized, it has led to an increase in crime, health, and societal problems. It magnifies an existing problem.

Acceptance of another mind-altering recreational drug always changes things for the worse.

Biblical Reasons to Oppose Marijuana
Every biblical injunction against alcohol is also a condemnation of marijuana and other recreational drugs.

1. Scripture describes in detail the dangerous effects of alcoholic wine and says not to even look at it (Proverbs 23:29-35). It’s not much of a leap to take the same low view of other dangerous drugs.

4. Kings are commanded not to drink wine lest they pervert justice (Proverbs 31:4-5). Believers are called kings and priests (Revelation 1:6; 5:10) and neither should we take drugs that would cause us to do things we’d never do in our right minds.

5. A Christian is to honor God with his mind and body (Matthew 22:37; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Both are adversely affected by alcohol and other drugs.

One very big problem Christian social drinkers have is if they are justified in taking one mind-altering recreational drug (alcohol), then they have no legitimate argument against another legal mind-altering recreational drug (marijuana). The wise thing for Christians is to have nothing to do with either drug.

It should also be remembered that legal and moral are not synonymous. Whether alcohol, marijuana, or other harmful drugs are legal, a Christian answers to a higher standard.

This is by far the BEST argument I've read against the legalizing of marijuana. All of your points are GREAT, yet one of my favorites is “when we allow and tax a practice that is harmful to society, we end up paying more to control it and deal with its consequences, than we receive in taxes”. Alcohol is your best example of that!! Excellent post David.

The next article offers a little more information along these lines. The clamor for medical marijuana seems to be for the smoking of marijuana rather than using medicine developed from the ingredients in marijuana. In other words, take away the recreational high or euphoria, and many are no longer interested in it’s medicinal use. The great majority of folks arguing for medical marijuana do seem to primarily just want to open the door to its legalized recreational use. When a state legalizes marijuana, two things seem to happen: First, most anyone can get a “prescription” and start smoking it. Second, the push then begins to completely legalize it for recreational use. I am for any drug that has a legitimate medical use. But I, and I believe Scripture, would caution against the use of recreational mind-altering drugs. And as mentioned in the article, we should even be very careful about using the legitimate, legal drugs; many get hooked on them.

As Barrett Duke has said, “Don't be taken in. Marijuana is a dangerous drug with countless negative effects. The rush to decriminalization in the name of pain control or mental health cannot be justified. Most people who use marijuana to relieve severe pain combine it with stronger pain relievers because marijuana is not effective enough by itself. Furthermore, marijuana's pain-relieving ingredient has been available by prescription for years. A person can purchase Marinol -- right now -- with a doctor's prescription…” -Barrett Duke, ERLC

Southern Baptist Pastor

Serving the Lord on the upper Gulf Coast of Texas.
Author of The Wit & Wisdom of Pastor Joe Brumbelow, Hannibal Books; and Ancient Wine and the Bible, Free Church Press.
See Article, "About Gulf Coast Pastor" for more information.